novelraw Chapter 278
Chapter 278
Chapter 278: Packing the Dragon with a Ribbon
Xia Li was still unsure about the location.
He had his eyes on two storefronts.
One was on the main street in the New City District. The advantage was ample parking, but the rent was expensive.
The other was an old shop on an old street in the Old City District. Transportation there was convenient, and there were also many parking spaces on the street. However, the drawback was that it was not available for lease, only for sale.
Xia Li called to inquire about the price. The several million yuan scared Lucia so much that she couldn’t even close her dragon mouth.
In the end, Xia Li decided to go back and discuss it with Mrs. Fang another day.
Mrs. Fang had run a shop for most of her life. She knew the ropes. Having her as the commander was better than Xia Li, a headless fly.
Moreover, as the major shareholder, Mrs. Fang did have a say.
◈◈◈ The next day.
Lucia felt that she had rested enough, so she slung her small cloth bag over her shoulder and prepared to continue her internship at the pet hospital.
Xia Li tried to persuade her to stay home, but Lucia said she had been on leave for so long that she would lose her position if she didn’t go to the hospital, insisting on going.
This little dragon girl just couldn’t stay idle.
Especially when she saw Xia Li worrying about starting a business every day and still having to find time to update his “Record of Experiences,” she couldn’t sit still any longer.
Living with a hardworking and motivated person, even a dragon would be subtly influenced.
Xia Li realized he couldn’t dissuade her, so he didn’t say anything more.
He thought, “Go if you want to go.”
The more days Lucia spent at other pet hospitals, the more professional she would become, which would also be helpful to their future business.
Besides, she was happy to do this.
It’s hard to buy what a dragon likes, even with a thousand gold.
“I’m going to work…”
With her small cloth bag for work on her back, Lucia’s arms were full of shopping bags.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think this dragon was moving, but it was just souvenirs she had brought for her colleagues.
“It must be nice to be your colleague.”
Xia Li couldn’t help but sigh as he looked at the dozens of shopping bags.
Lucia was getting better and better at handling things, her interpersonal relationships were handled very well. Many times, she didn’t even need Xia Li’s guidance, she could do better than Xia Li, an Earthling.
“Mm-hmm!”
Lucia sat in the car and nodded obediently.
This dragon couldn’t stand being praised. Once praised, her tail would stick up to the ceiling.
It wasn’t until they reached a traffic light that Xia Li reached out and pressed down her dragon tail, which was sticking up like an antenna.
“But, Miss Lucia, you didn’t bring me a gift from your trip abroad.” Xia Li said with a hint of melancholy.
“…”
Hearing this, Lucia was speechless for a moment.
Oh, right!
This time out, she had brought gifts for everyone around her, even the kitten downstairs had dried fish to eat.
But she had neglected Xia Li.
“…What do you want?”
Lucia didn’t understand that two people traveling together didn’t need to give each other gifts.
She only knew that Xia Li had asked her, so she had to satisfy him.
“Here, take this.”
Xia Li handed a ribbon to Lucia.
It was a red ribbon that had been removed from a birthday cake on a previous birthday. This morning, he had casually put it in his pocket when he was cleaning up the trash.
It came in handy now.
When they arrived at their destination, Xia Li parked the car. Seeing that Lucia was still a little dazed, he whispered in her ear.
“When you get off work, tie this around yourself and give yourself to me as a gift.”
Because Xia Li’s tone was too serious, Lucia didn’t react.
She subconsciously nodded, then immediately thought of the scene of herself, naked, wrapped in a red ribbon, hiding in a gift box and giving herself to Xia Li.
It was so embarrassing!
“…Go, go to work!”
The magnanimous dragon never bothered to argue with the hero.
Lucia did the most cowardly thing with the toughest attitude.
She carefully took the ribbon from Xia Li’s hand, tucked it into her pocket, and then turned around and got out of the car with her souvenirs.
Xia Li sat in the car, watching her busy figure from afar.
Hopefully, this dragon’s sincerity wouldn’t be betrayed by her colleagues.
This pet hospital was the first place where Lucia had realized her self-worth after coming to this society.
But… she wouldn’t be staying in this workplace for long.
Perhaps, when life got back on track later, she would miss the days when she was a little intern.
After seeing off the dragon.
Xia Li went home alone and typed away at his keyboard until it was smoking.
He typed and typed, cranking out ten thousand words, and clicked send.
The “Record of Experiences from Azure Continent” had now reached the milestone of one million words, and several story lines were coming to an end.
The dragon slayer eventually fell in love with the dragon.
The two characters, who had been in love and killing each other, had finally gotten together after various twists and turns. The hero understood his feelings and expressed his determination, and the silver dragon boldly confessed her love. The two hit it off in the dragon’s lair.
Next came the shameless days of making people and making dragons.
Although Xia Li initially wanted to write a grand worldview with an epic feel, the later plot focused on the emotional line, and the story went a bit off-topic.
But fortunately, the ups and downs of the plot were still exciting, and the pictures taken from Azure Continent later completely conquered the complaining setting enthusiasts. The comment section was once again buzzing with excitement.
Xia Li’s “Record of Experiences” had already become popular because of Qin Chuan’s incident, and now, with the addition of photos that could be called “suspected to be the strongest AI synthesis in history,” it was once again pushed to the forefront by passing readers.
Some even suspected that such high-definition and realistic images were actually from another world.
Others said that the author of this “Record of Experiences” was an AI industry worker, which was why he was able to master more advanced photo synthesis technology.
Xia Li never explained anything about it.
They could guess whatever they wanted.
After all, traffic nowadays was equivalent to cash. The more people guessed, the greater Xia Li’s income.
He even took a picture of the adult silver dragon’s palm-sized, armor-thick, hard dragon scale and posted it online.
Such clear lines and realistic reflections directly drove the setting enthusiasts crazy.
Xia Li found it very amusing through the screen.
“Knock, knock.”
In the afternoon, Xia Li was happily browsing the comment section when a knock on the door interrupted the smile on his face.
He put on his clothes and went to open the door, only to find that it was Old Qin.
“You…”
“Which shirt do you think looks good?”
Xia Li was about to speak when Qin Chuan beat him to it.
Looking closely at the three solid-colored short-sleeved shirts in Qin Chuan’s hand, Xia Li hesitated to speak.
“Besides black, white, and gray… can’t you buy some more auspicious colors?”
“You mean red?” Qin Chuan said seriously.
“It doesn’t have to be red, it can also be blue and purple…”
Sometimes Xia Li really doubted whether Old Qin’s ability to dress himself was online.
Every time, his clothes were either black or white, there wasn’t a single color on his whole body. As long as he lowered his head, he would look extremely gloomy.
However, for someone who had died tens of thousands of times in another world, it was a bit much to ask him to open his eyes and discover the beauty of life.
“I haven’t cut the tag yet, I’ll go change it to another color now.”
Qin Chuan was a man of action, and he turned around and went downstairs as he spoke.
Xia Li didn’t stop him, so he had to go with him.
This guy had specially come upstairs to knock on Xia Li’s door, and it turned out that he really just wanted Xia Li to help him choose clothes.
He said that the photos taken with his phone had color differences, and it was better to judge with the naked eye.
Xia Li was speechless.
But from another perspective, Xia Li could understand Qin Chuan’s feelings.
After all, he was going to see the person he liked.
Whether it was a boy or a girl, when they saw the person they liked, they wanted to make themselves look good.
This way, they could not only leave a good impression, but also increase the success rate of their confession.
◈◈◈
Qin Chuan finally changed into a light yellow short-sleeved hoodie.
He couldn’t accept such a “fancy” color, saying that he was too old and it didn’t suit him.
Xia Li was speechless.
He and Qin Chuan were only two years apart in their Earth identities. If Qin Chuan said he was old, wouldn’t that make him old too?
At this age, weren’t they supposed to be full of youthful vigor?
So without saying a word, he cut off Qin Chuan’s tag.
◈◈◈
Qin Chuan’s eyes went dark, and he had no choice but to buy it.
This pale yellow color did match the Saint’s gold very well…
“According to the time, she should still be founding the nation at this time… After the Demon King fell, it would take a long time for humans to restore order.”
Back at Xia Li’s house, the two decided to make final mental preparations for tomorrow’s summoning ritual.
Xia Li didn’t have much to prepare, it mainly depended on Qin Chuan himself.
“It’s a pity that I left before I saw her coronation. She must have looked very beautiful in her holy white dress.”
Qin Chuan tugged at the drawstring of his hoodie, imagining many different scenes in his mind.
Different scenes corresponded to different futures.
As a time traveler, Qin Chuan could imagine that the world was gradually becoming a better place. People were rising from the ruins, rebuilding their homes, farming, herding, establishing laws…
And the Saint, who was favored by the Goddess of Fate, would undoubtedly sit on the highest throne of the church.
The Saint of that world wouldn’t marry or have children. What Xia Li had said to him last night, “Her children could call you uncle,” shouldn’t happen… probably.
What Qin Chuan was most afraid of now was that the Saint would accept her responsibilities, become the Pope of the Holy Temple, shed her light on the people, bring blessings, and close her heart to love.
“Have you ever thought,”
Xia Li’s sudden words interrupted Qin Chuan’s thoughts.
“You still have one chance to see her in a white dress.”
“What chance?” Qin Chuan asked, coming back to his senses.
“At your wedding,” Xia Li said with a smile, “You holding her hand and walking down the aisle.”
“…”
Qin Chuan had never thought about something so far in the future.
Xia Li’s words were like holy light, dazzling him. His expression was a little dazed, and he couldn’t help but start thinking in a bad direction again…
Was he really worthy?
“You’re the hero who saved the world, be confident.”
Seeing his dejected look, Xia Li sighed and patted Old Qin on the shoulder.
Suddenly, Xia Li glanced at the clock on the living room wall.
He suddenly remembered something.
Oh no.
He had missed the dragon’s get off work time.
How could he comfort his brother and forget about his wife?
Xia Li immediately packed up his things and went out. As he was leaving, he thought of something and went back to the living room to stuff a cardboard box into Qin Chuan’s hand.
“I won’t say anything else, confidence comes from within. This laptop is for you, consider it my sincerity in hiring you as our company’s workhorse. You should also think carefully about your future path.”
Since there was no one else here, Xia Li finished speaking in a half-joking tone.
He grabbed his car keys and just turned the doorknob.
The girl standing behind the door bumped into him.
Lucia was rummaging through her cloth bag with her small hands.
She remembered putting her keys here… but she hadn’t touched this bag for almost a month, so the keys might have been put somewhere else.
She was just getting into it when a hero bumped into her.
Xia Li was bounced back by the dragon, taking two steps back and clutching his chest.
When did this dragon learn Iron Head skill!
“…Why didn’t you knock? No, why didn’t you send me a message when you got off work?” Xia Li blamed her first.
“I did,” Lucia looked up and said.
“I even called you, you didn’t answer, I thought you were busy, so I took the car back myself.”
Lucia clutched the strap of her cloth bag with her small hand, blinking her eyes innocently.
“…”
Xia Li was silent for a second, then took out his phone and saw two missed calls.
If he hadn’t been thinking about his good brother still being at home, Xia Li would definitely have softened up and coaxed his wife at this time.
Lucia reached out her small hand and pushed him aside, entering the house to change her shoes.
She was never polite at home, throwing her bag aside and going to the dining table to drink water.
Turning her head, she saw Qin Chuan sitting on the sofa and politely nodded in greeting.
“Dragon Sister…” Qin Chuan raised his hand and smiled sheepishly.
“I’ve taken up two hours of Old Xia’s time.”
“It’s okay~ You guys talk.”
Lucia didn’t mind at all, waving her hand and going to the kitchen.
“Are we making dinner for three today?”
It had been a long time since she had touched her forbidden zone （the kitchen）. Lucia was excited and poked her head in to ask for Xia Li’s opinion.
“No, no, I’ll be leaving soon. I’ve asked for leave tomorrow and have to go to the shop to work at five.” Qin Chuan quickly shook his head.
“Oh, okay.”
Lucia decisively cooked a full pot of rice.
Whether there were guests at home or not, she could eat a whole pot of rice by herself. Adding one more person was just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks.
“…That’s roughly the framework. Don’t feel pressured, do what you can, and if you can’t, we’ll hire outside help. We’ll need you to do long-term maintenance anyway.”
Xia Li showed Qin Chuan the interfaces of two software he had downloaded on his phone, as well as a WeChat mini-program.
He wanted this kind of color scheme and structure.
The content didn’t need to be too detailed, as long as it could visually present the project and be somewhat pleasing to the eye.
“Okay.” Qin Chuan nodded, taking note of each point.
Xia Li knew that this guy’s mind wouldn’t be on work at this moment, he was probably thinking about tomorrow’s events, so he didn’t make things difficult for him.
After two cups of tea, he sent Qin Chuan away.
As dinner time approached, every household started cooking, which was the busiest time of the day for Qin Chuan.
It was also the happiest time for the female dragon in Xia Li’s house.
“Little Chef, what are we eating today?”
After sending off his good brother, Xia Li washed his hands and went to the kitchen to help.
This dragon hadn’t touched kitchen utensils for too long, she was so happy that her tail was wagging, the long silver dragon tail hitting the kitchen cabinets, making a “pa pa” sound.
Just cooking could make this dragon so happy…
He had married a natural-born cooking master. Xia Li thought to himself.
“Mapo tofu, Kung Pao chicken, seaweed and egg drop soup!” Lucia announced the menu.
“That must be delicious!”
No matter what she said she was going to eat, Xia Li would always praise her.
He hugged Lucia from behind, sniffing the faint scent of disinfectant on her body.
“Ah~ It tickles.”
Lucia felt uncomfortable being sucked by the stinky hero, her neck tingling, it was even disturbing her cutting vegetables.
“Hmm? What’s this?”
Xia Li’s hand was restless, wandering around the dragon’s body, finally landing on her back.
It wasn’t the girl’s bra clasp, but something else…
Xia Li simply reached in and pulled out a cotton ribbon.
The further he pulled, the tighter the ribbon became, until he couldn’t pull it anymore.
The red ribbon… was the one Xia Li had given Lucia in the morning.
He had said that he wanted Lucia to tie herself up with the ribbon and then pack herself up and send her over…
“Don’t… don’t pull.”
Lucia’s legs were pressed together, her face flushed, she looked a little uncomfortable.
“It’s choking me…”
Her knees were together, her body seemed to have softened.
Xia Li used his limited brainpower at the moment to think about where the other end of the ribbon would be stuck.
His blood immediately boiled.
“Why don’t we eat later, I’m not hungry yet.”
Xia Li’s nose was almost smoking with heat. But he thought about it, it wouldn’t delay cooking.
He closed the kitchen doors and windows, and pulled down the blinds.
Lucia blushed, her small hands resting on the counter, looking back at him frequently.
The tail-wagging dragon girl held her dragon tail high, her shy expression saying it all.
“It’s okay, you do your thing, I’ll do mine.”
Xia Li said behind her.
Kung Pao chicken needed to be stir-fried repeatedly, flipped over and over again to be cooked through.
The same went for the dragon.